Category Archives: Lists

Before he hooked up with Klaus Kinski, Werner Herzog was a little-known art-film director who was nevertheless one of the most single-minded men the cinema has ever seen. Of course, the man met his match in Kinski, who while being intensely talented – he worked with an amazing array of directors before he became something akin to Herzog’s muse – was also the most temperamentally self-important actors every to grace the screen. He was as known for the quality of his work as for his ability to get fired from every other movie he worked on. Continue reading →

I don’t know what gave me the idea to do a list of the best movies with severed digits – in this case, digits is not meant in a mathematical way, but in the fingers and toes way – but since all lists are inherently arbitrary constructed and a little stupid (AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs, anybody?), it seemed all right just to embrace these lists for all their stupidity and pick something outre.

So, here it is, the ten best movies that prominently feature a severed finger. Or toe.

(Incidentally, I thought about calling this ‘pieces and parts’ but chose an equally silly title.)

Come on, admit it, when you were in school you loved the school dance. You loved getting slightly dressed up, feeling even more awkward than usual, and spending all night debating whether you were going to ask your favorite girl to dance you, only to find yourself trying not to get aroused the moment she said yes.

In honor of the ending of 30 Rock this week – easily one of the two greatest TV shows of all time – it’s time to break down it’s ten best episodes, if only to remind myself of the excellence that will henceforth live only in re-runs.

10. Jackie Jormp-Jomp (Season 3)

Prior to this episode, Liz had attempted to use her sexuality to stop cutbacks from effecting TGS – a common threat over the course of 30 Rock. Of course, her reward is a suspension for sexual harassment and having to deal with everybody’s favorite transgender-HR specialist, Jeffery Weinerslav. During her suspension, she tries to find a way to fill the time and finally falls in with some women in her building, going to spas and having massages all day, which is something she could definitely get used to. Except, their perfect existence is not exactly what it seems and requires other stimuli to sustain them. Two words: Fight Club. Continue reading →

In honor of both Lance Armstrong admitting his Tour de France victories were a sham, and Manti Te’o getting caught up in some weird catfish-nonsense about his online-girlfriend, it seemed a good time to run out a list of movies you could draw from to program your Hoax-themed film festivals this weekend. Continue reading →

Well, it’s pretty clichéd to put out a list of the greatest Christmas Movies at Christmas Time. It’s also pretty clichéd what winds up on the list. Never one to miss a bandwagon I’m jumping right up on it to present my ten favorite Christmas Movies, mostly in no real order, even if I’ve numbered them in order. However, just because I’m doing the clichéd thing doesn’t mean I won’t try to tweak it a little so, here it is: The Ten Best Christmas Movies and What’s Wrong With Them. Continue reading →

Film lovers like me, by definition, love film. They go nuts over the latest Criterion releases, go through the viewing guide on TCM and the other stations so they can set their DVR, and sometimes arrange their whole life around the experience of watching a movie.

It stands to reason that if film-lovers love films, then the hardcore film-lovers love films about films – especially documentaries about films. What follows is 10 films about films, in no particular order. The only way to get on the list: 1) I had to like the film. 2) It couldn’t be a retrospective of the work of just one filmmakers because if it were, it would be a film about a filmmaker, not a film about films. Continue reading →

Recently, my wife and I took our kids to a drive-in theater about an hour from my house. As I kid I remember going to the drive-in several times, seeing such classics as Jaws 3:D and Kenny Rogers/Diane Lane/Erin Gray vehicle Six Pack, but my kids had never had the experience. We saw Brave, which was substandard Pixar, and The Avengers, which was slightly better than all right. Anyway, in honor of the event it seemed like a fun idea to look back at the ten most memorable Drive-In scenes in the movies – at least memorable to me. Continue reading →

So, this post was meant to come out at Easter, but of course, I had a million other things going on and forgot to load it, so you get it as a start of summer post. Anyway, it seemed appropriate that in celebration of Easter – which officially endsedlent and meant I could finally go back on the cookies and jelly beans – we take a few moments to honor the Easter Bunny by recognizing 10 cinematic bunny’s. (Also, once this post ends, don’t be afraid to take a minute and honor me by popping over here and buying one of my books. If you get one for the Kindle, you’re only out $1.99, at most, which is a really good deal, if you ask me.)

Being a lawyer I’m a bit sensitive to the way lawyers are perceived. If it is Republicans blaming us for the ills of the healthcare industry – I still don’t see the causal link – then it’s movies and TV making us all out as blood-sucking ambulance chasers – a la Ian Holm in The Sweet Hereafter.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I have a sense of humor. My favorite attorney ever is Barry Zuckerkorn from Arrested Development, who’s greatest and most effective act for his client is the ability to recognize that the incriminating photo found on his client’s cell phone is not a map of Iraq but actually is a picture of a man’s scrotum, therefore holding off the charges of treason until another day.

No, what I don’t have much of a sense of humor about, though, are those times when a lawyer in a film is actually lionized by the public, for his great grandstanding gestures, or even his nobility, when he should really be vilified for his utter incompetence.

What follows, then, are Nine of the Worst On-Screen Lawyers. Some are a bit more obvious to understand, others might take a trained legal mind to spot the Worst-ness: Continue reading →